Don't miss hotspots of agricultural innovation

Policymakers focused on fostering pro-poor innovation in
agriculture are overlooking hotspots of creativity — pioneers silently
building successful, socially relevant and sustainable businesses that
service the needs of poor farmers, says Andy Hall.

The challenge now, he argues, is to find ways of supporting these new modes of innovation and their diversity.

The new class of profitable entrepreneurs
is becoming more visible in developing countries, tackling social and
environmental issues in ways that policymakers have for years struggled
to achieve. These groups are developing under the public policy radar,
Hall says, challenging long-held beliefs about what drives innovation
and bringing real benefits to poor communities.

One example is the Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee — a
non-governmental organisation heavily involved in input supply and
agro-processing. In Kenya, the Real IPM Company produces and sells
bio-pesticides to poor farmers in East Africa. It also works with the UK
Department for International Development to promote a bio-pesticide for
weed control.

These "hybrid modes of innovation" have found ways to access
large markets of poor people, and their business models are likely to
appeal to companies looking to enter new markets, says Hall. Some
experts predict that they will become prominent in China and India,
which could have global implications.

Policymakers should not tout these initiatives as a blueprint
for success, Hall says, but instead work to support creativity in the
early stages of entrepreneurial activity.